Goldman Sachs’ Venables Recognized as Leader in Financial Services

The Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) has awarded Phil Venables the 2017 FS-ISAC Critical Infrastructure Protection award. The award recognizes financial services members who have made substantial contributions to the overall resilience of the industry.

Venables, who previously served as chief information risk officer and head of Technology Risk for Goldman Sachs, now leads the Operational Risk Management and Analysis function within the firm’s Risk Division.

He shares the recognition with Jim Rosenthal, former COO and now senior advisor at Morgan Stanley, and they continue as co-chairs of the Board of Sheltered Harbor. Together with Rosenthal and other industry peers, Venables was instrumental in the formation of the Sheltered Harbor organization, an initiative within the financial services sector designed to enhance resiliency and protection for financial institutions’ customer accounts and data. Sheltered Harbor focuses on setting technical and procedural standards for organizations to better provide for the resilience and recovery of customer account data.

Venables has been a leader in the financial services cyber security space for more than 25 years. At Goldman Sachs, he has continued the firm’s tradition of risk management, expanding it to the cybersecurity space. The industry is keenly aware of the dangers of cyber-attacks, and Goldman Sachs works closely with industry members and the relevant authorities to ensure appropriate measures are taken to defend against them and to constantly evolve those defenses. Additionally, the firm is actively involved in a number of key industry initiatives and partnerships globally, such as FS-ISAC, SIFMA (the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association) and other initiatives. As a member of these organizations, the firm collaborates with other companies to share information, resources and best practices on cyber security.

“It is gratifying to see the strides we have made across the financial services industry in establishing Sheltered Harbor,” said Venables. “It has and continues to be a collaborative effort from financial institutions, utilities, associations and service providers to come together to further improve the resiliency of the sector.”